[ 2017-04-24 ]

Regency Hotel fire: Firemen feared for their lives – Keelson
The Corporate Affairs Manager of Groupe Nduom,
Richmond Keelson, has revealed that firefighters
who thronged the premises of the Coconut Grove
Regency Hotel in Accra to douse the fire that
gutted portions of the building on Saturday were
more concerned about their safety than putting out
the blaze.

The hotel, owned by businessman and politician Dr
Papa Kwesi Nduom, caught fire and destroyed
several items. No one was hurt in the inferno.

Speaking on this matter in an interview with Chief
Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom, on
Accra100.5FM on Monday April 24, Mr Keelson said:
“When I got to the scene I saw that the fire
workers had come over there but their demeanour
and actions showed that they were not going to be
able to deal with the fire situation.

“They were more interested in protecting their
own lives but I don’t blame them because the
kits that they needed to do their work were not
there and so the situation was like some civilians
who were fighting the fire.

“I cannot say for now what really caused the
incident. The fire workers are doing their own
investigations, the police, navy, and the military
who later joined in dousing the fire are also
carrying out their investigations. We are also
doing our private investigations and so I cannot
tell exactly what happened now.”

But responding to these comments in an interview
with Chief Jerry Forson on the same programme, Mr
Billy Anaglate, the Public Relations Officer of
the Ghana National Fire Service, said: “It is
just unfortunate that instead of the public
commending the Fire Service for the good job that
we have been doing to protect their lives and
their properties, we rather receive condemnation.

“I am saying this because anytime there is fire,
people want to be heard being socially responsible
so they try to accuse people that [risk] their
lives to protect their properties and their lives.
If we look at what happened at Coconut Grove Hotel
yesterday, we had a call at 17:21hrs and we got
there in less than three minutes, only to realise
that we needed assistance to fight the fire.

“Our information gathered and the investigation
conducted since yesterday and today reveal that
the people called us barely 25 minutes after they
discovered the fire. Not even the people that were
working there informed the Fire Service. It was a
taxi driver who was driving past and saw the fire
who drove to our Fire Service headquarters. Based
on that, we dispatched a tender that got there in
less than three minutes. So within those 25
minutes that the people saw the fire, why
couldn’t any one of them call? They claim they
called the Fire Service but I asked the one what
time he called and he said he was calling but
could not get through to our office. I asked again
‘which number were you calling?’ and he told
me 191. Meanwhile 191 is not Fire Service number;
191 does not come to Fire Service.”

Source - classfmonline.com

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